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English Premier League Club Crystal Palace Is Up for Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street financiers Josh Harris and David Blitzer are seeking to sell the English Premier League team Crystal Palace after about three years under their ownership, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two have talked with at least one U.S.-based financial firm about buying the team, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The company has retained PJT Partners Inc. to handle the sale.

A spokeswoman for Harris declined to comment, as did PJT Partners. Blitzer didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the team being for sale.

Harris, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, and Blackstone executive Blitzer also control the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL’s Devils and the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, where the hockey team plays.

Harris and Blitzer had been among the owners who unsuccessfully sought to keep an even share of the league’s international TV money. Bigger clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal won the right to get a bigger share, saying their international popularity drives viewership.

South London-based Palace, as the team is known, is 13th in the 20-team league, which relegates the bottom three clubs to a lower division. Teams that get sent down receive a smaller share of revenue. Palace is eight points above that threshold with nine games remaining.

Palace has been in and out of the Premier League since being among the league’s founding members in 1992, prompting some to refer to it as a yo-yo club because of its promotion and relegation. The team has required bankruptcy protection twice since 1999, though not under the current ownership.